Sunday Times 2
A new generation to lead the WNPS
View(s):The Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS), established in 1894), is one of the oldest conservation organisations in Asia. It has been at the forefront of numerous important and critical milestones in conservation in the island.
At its Annual General Meeting on July 26, at the Auditorium of the Meteorological Department in Colombo, this historic 120-year-old institution stepped into the future with the election of a new generation of Committee Members, a younger generation of conservationists as needed to tackle the many threats that face wildlife and nature in Sri Lanka today.
President, SLANA Prof. Lakdas Fernando
In a progressive move, the membership passed a resolution that at least three members of the General Committee must be women.
President, Prof. Lakdas Fernando said, “I consider myself fortunate to have a new set of Committee members. They are all conservationists and, in addition, are highly successful professionals and entrepreneurs. I have no doubt that they will bring to the General Committee their experience and success, as well as vigour, vitality and zest to bring new thinking to the WNPS so that its voice may be heard loud and clear.”
The new Committee will be faced with many challenges. The Human – Elephant Conflict, unplanned development, unrestrained encroachment into protected areas, indiscriminate burning of forests, the poisoning of waterholes during the drought, threats to marine mammals and their eco-system from uncontrolled whale watching and ships strikes and discharge of pollutants,…the list is endless. Unless action is taken, and taken soon, to stop this systematic degradation of the natural heritage of this country, then future generations will have to pay dearly for this present environmental callousness.
The following are the General Committee of the WNPS for 2014 / 15:
Prof. Lakdas Fernando (Hon. President)
Rukshan Jayewardene (Hon. Vice President)
Charitha Gooneratne (Hon. Vice President)
Rohan Wijesinha (Hon. General Secretary)
Ranil Pieris (Hon. Treasurer)
Ravi Deraniyagala (Immediate Past President)
Darrel Bartholomeusz, Rahula Dassenaike, Madura De Silva, Major. Raajiv D. Wanigasekera, Ms. Tami Flamer-Caldera, Imran Jabeer, Namal Kamalgoda, Jeevaka Perera, Rupika Rajakaruna, Naresha Supramaniam,
Ms. Ayanthi Samarajeewa
The WNPS has approximately 3,000 members and this new Committee will have the challenge of activating this large group into a force to raise awareness and protect the diminishing environment.
The flagship journal of the Society is the Loris, the leading journal on conservation issues in Sri Lanka. It also publishes a magazine in the vernacular, Warana, that targets the Society’s ‘Schools Nature Club’ projects. The aim of this initiative is to encourage schools to form their own clubs and societies to take up and discuss conservation issues.
The Society’s three well located circuit bungalows at Yala, Uda Walawe’ and Wilpattu, available to members and the public, encourage the visits to these areas, and thus promote their appreciation and conservation.